If you’re a ‘90’s kid like me, Cassie Ventura probably holds a special place in your memories, like she does in mine.
I remember when I first heard Cassie’s first hit, “Me & U,” and seeing her music video shortly after and thinking, “Wow, I want to be just like her.” Her follow-up hit, “Long Way 2 Go,” was also on repeat as I got ready for school. Her being half-Filipino might have helped, especially during a period where there were no Filipinos in hip-hop or the music industry as a whole. It provided a sense of representation for me. Yet somehow, after these hits, Cassie just seemed to disappear – she fell off the map and became known as “P. Diddy’s girlfriend.” They were together for over a decade, eventually breaking up in 2018. Not long after, Cassie had her first child with her new partner in 2019. That was the last I heard about her, until now.
Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy) is one of the most prominent (and, I thought, unproblematic) musicians in hip-hop, which might be one of the reasons why the allegations are disturbing. The allegations paint a picture of control, abuse, and drug-induced manipulation. Cassie claims that not long after she met him, he controlled and abused her by giving her drugs, beating her, and forcing her to have sex while he filmed the encounters. Perhaps the reason we did not hear from once she began her relationship with Diddy is due to what she is alleging: he controlled her career, beat her, and provided her with “copious amounts of drugs.” Her lawsuit even alleges that he raped her in 2018.
Mr. Comb’s defence lawyer, on the other hand, state that Cassie demanded $30 million and threatened to expose what happened during their relationship if these demands were not met. Cassie’s lawyer, however, refutes that, stating that Mr. Combs offered her a lot of money to silence her, but she didn’t agree. In other words, money isn’t what she is after.
This obviously isn’t an isolated case in the music industry, especially lately. Steven Tyler (from Aerosmith) is currently facing allegations of sexual assault, after having been sued for sexual assault just last year. Antonio Reid (“LA”), who worked with Usher and TLC and wrote for Boys II Men, has also been accused of sexual assault in the past month, all of which highlight an ongoing issue in the industry.
What is interesting to note is that New York’s Adult Survivors Act will expire next week, which will end a one-year period in which people can file civil suits for alleged instances of sexual abuse even if the statute of limitations on the incidents have expired. This nearing statutory expiration is what has been said to prompt the lawsuit against P. Diddy and L.A. Reid (and last year, Donald Trump). Once this expires, plaintiffs cannot sue for criminal prosecution but only for monetary damages.
As we hear more about what happens with this case, it reminds me of the power dynamics in the music industry. When I think about this, I think about how P. Diddy met Cassie when he was 37 and she was just 19, or how Aaliyah was only 15 when she met 27-year-old R. Kelly.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, it is a surprise to see someone prominent in the industry caught up in a case like this, but it really shouldn’t be surprising at all. Fame can often overshadow stories that, as we see here, eventually come to light.